Information technology

The most rapid technological advances in the last 30 years have been in the areas of the computer and the internet. Information technology can help us make Cleanleaps in many ways and we’ll track the most relevant developments here.

Food waste in Nigeria has various causes, including damage after harvesting and during transportation. Consumers are also to blame, since many buy larger amounts than they can consume. Shops can also do their share by reducing the amount of expired food thrown away, through computerised ordering systems and apps such as Chowberry.

The World Bank's Main Grid Connectivity-Mapping Tool is a an approach that can be used ot clearly understand electricty capabilities in an area at a granalar level. As companies take a cleanleap to being powered by solar, it is a way of routing their solar energy inventory to spaces where there is low connectivity.

The Kenya National Farmers Awards, an annual fete that seeks to celebrate the country’s finest in farming and now in its fourth year, is the latest stab by the country at enticing especially women and youth in farming, a constituency traditionally neglected in food production.

Smart Solar's remote monitoring of solar power systems is not new even to BBOXX, but collaboration with Aeris will mean these systems will use one network and so can be used globally without the need for configuring local networks. It lowers supply-chain costs and deployment time. It means these systems can also be used anywhere in the world.

In Nairobi telecommunications firm MTN have opened a new data office with 70 racks aimed at supporting small to medium sized businesses. Liquid Telecom’s East Africa Data Centre has 600 racks and IBM have recently opened a cognitive cloud computing service in conjunction with Sidian Bank. Kenya is now a growing hub for online supported services and cloud technology not just in East Africa, but across the continent as a whole.

Identity means everything to humankind. We are who we are because we hold onto an image of ourselves. This is power. It is control. Nothing gives people control over their lives more than financial identity. It’s with this knowledge that the Android app called TALA (formerly InVenture) came into play, riding on that concept. TALA is a FinTech (Financial Technology) company and app that allows customers in East Africa to access loans and other forms of credit directly through their mobile phones. The app collects data from around 10,000 data points and assesses borrowing potential to create a financial profile of the user.

Globally, there are currently 1.5 billion people who have no access to the main grid. Currently, Kenya stands at 83% on mobile penetration, but only 20% of these statistics have their households connected to the main grid. The question then becomes how possible to power these mobile gadgets? Jiko Power is trying to address this problem. ‘Jiko’ in Swahili means a cookstove, while ‘Power’ essentially connotes the electrical power derived from the heat generated from the firewood that is used in the stove.

Zipline, a robotics company based in California, recently launched the use of medical drones to transport bloods to remote hospitals in the Western province of Rwanda, that have challenges with lack of proper infrastructure and quick access to medical supplies. The launch at Kabgayi hospital, in the Southern Province of Rwanda was in the presence of HE Paul Kagame, the President of Rwanda.

That UAVs can fly brings immediate advantages in terms of how they may travel, and the locations they can reach — often surpassing what’s possible with conventional means of transport. Meanwhile, refinements in computer systems has led to advanced navigation and control systems being embedded within UAV systems — a development that’s been crucial in enabling UAV services to function effectively. With improvements in performance, even consumer grade UAVs are able to carry and deliver small packages over considerable distances.

Project Loon the research program with the ambitious vision of delivering global Internet coverage is well underway. And with some luck, by the end of this year we’ll have a great indication of what the project means for the dream of universal Internet access. Project Loon is a flagship of X (previously Google X), the five-year old experimental projects lab fostering so-called ‘moonshot’ projects from Alphabet, the parent company behind Google. By any measure Project Loon is an undertaking of truly global proportions — it involves establishing a fleet of high-altitude balloons that will form a network of Internet-carrying transceivers.